Battle Story: Western Continental War
General The Western Continent War was the first large-scale conflict on Zi after the Grand Catastrophe meteor event. Serving as the main storyline for the NJR release, the Western Continent War's belligerents were the Helic Republic (under President Louise Camford) and the Guylos Empire (under Gunther Prozen). The war lasted from August ZAC 2099 until October ZAC 2100. Like its namesake implies, the war took place on the Western Continent of Europa. The Western Continent War is one of the most important conflicts of post-meteor Zi, as it is responsible for technological developments such as the Organoid System and the flashpoint for later wars such as the Neo-Zenebas coup of ZAC 2101. Prelude & Declaration of War Emperor Guylos, the ruler of the Guylos Empire, passes away on ZAC 2097. One year later, his ten-year-old son Rudolph Gerhardt Zeppelin III is appointed as emperor. As he is not of age yet, the Empire installs Gunther Prozen - a high-ranking member of the Guylos family - as the regent. Unbeknownst to all, Prozen is actually the illegitimate son of Zenebas and a court official, and has ambitions to reestablish his father's empire. On June ZAC 2099, Prozen declares war on the Helic Republic, with the supposed intention of increasing the Guylos Empire's territory. Secretly, his desire is actually for the Guylos Empire and Helic Republic to tire themselves out in the war, leaving them weak and giving him an opportunity to revive the Zenebas Empire later. At this point in time, the entire Central Continent of Delpoi was under Republican control, and the Dark Continent of Nyx belonged to the Guylos Empire. Beneath Nyx and to the left of Delpoi was situated the Western Continent of Europa. Due to an electromagnetic region named Triangle Daras in between Nyx and Delpoi, the Empire's 90 divisions are sent to Europa instead, using the continent there as a staging ground for the Delpoi invasion. The Republic responds in kind by sending their own armed forces there, and Europa becomes the main battlefield for the remainder of the war. August to December 2099 - Mount Olympus The Western Continent is composed of North, South and West Europa, but the bulk of the war took place on the North. The Republican forces land on two beachheads on the eastern side of North Europa, while the Guylos Empire lands on the western side. By August, both forces have landed and the first clash occurs on the Red Rust desert with re-engineered Zoids from before the Cataclysm. Both armies target Mount Olympus, a strategic location surrounded by a circular lake known as Mercurius Lake. But the Guylos Empire has prepared for the war with their newly re-engineered Zoids, conquering Mount Olympus within the first week of the war. By September, the Republic has been pushed out of Olympus, and so they deploy a battalion led by officer L.G. Halford to recapture the mountain. Composed of high-speed Shield Ligers and Command Wolves, the battalion encounters fierce Guylos resistance (including Saber Tigers), before finally arriving on the summit of the mountain in October. There, they learn that the mountain holds ancient ruins that the Guylos Empire is using to resurrect the then-extinct Death Saurer. The Death Saurer is incomplete at this stage, and L.G. Halford sacrifices his life to destroy it while a Double Sworder rescues the sole survivor of the battalion, Tommy Paris. Paris escapes with the data on the ruins and the Republic learns about it. The Republic's forces begin slowly retreating back to the eastern forests. January to March 2100 - Organoid System ZAC 2100 begins and by January the Guylos Empire has successfully developed the Organoid System from the ancient ruins. Along with other technologies like the Changing Armor System, the Organoid System is one of the innovations of the Western Continent War. The first Zoid built with the Organoid System is the Geno Saurer, and later the Empire develops the Rev Rapter as well. Both Zoids outclass the Republican Zoids; the Geno Saurer has a Charged Particle Cannon, and a pack of Rapters succeed in destroying a Gojulas. At this stage, the Republic has had to resort to guerrilla warfare, and by February both factions are racing to secure more ruins. By March the Republic has already developed OS-equipped Zoids, and push the Blade Liger, Storm Sworder, and Gun Sniper into service. The new OS Zoids clash in multiple battles with the Guylos Zoids in the ruins of South Europa. Of particular note is the battle in the Garil Ruins, where Arthur Borgman's new Blade Liger and Ritz 'Iceman' Runstead's Geno Saurer encounter each other. Both Zoids enter the underground ruins, where Runstead's Geno Saurer successfully retrieves an ancient Zoid Core. Runstead then escapes by blasting out from underground using its Charged Particle Cannon, and the ancient Zoid Core is brought back to the Guylos Empire - later used to develop the infamous berserk Death Stinger. April to July 2100 - Prozen Knights & Death Stinger By May, the Republic is still holding out, and resorts to bombing of Guylos supply lines in an attempt to attrite their enemy. Reinforcements arrive from the Central Continent, taken from the Delpoi defense forces, and are transported via Neo Turtleship carriers. On the way there, Guylos Sinkers attempt to intercept the Turtleships, but the Zoids on the Turtleships are able to destroy them. The Republic begins turning the tables on the Empire by this point in time. Prozen sends his personal guard - the Prozen Knights - to Europa to prevent a Republican counterattack with a pincer strategy. This strategy fails though, as the amphibious troops are destroyed by the new Republican Hammer Head Zoid, and the land forces are defeated by mercenaries (including Irvine). Of particular note is the Gojulas the Ogre that destroys an Iron Kong PK. Five days after the Prozen Knights' failed attack, the Empire deploys new Zoids to prevent the Republican advance. These include the Proto Breaker (a prototype Geno Breaker), the Geno Trooper (an aerial Geno Saurer), the Lightning Saix, as well as a Death Stinger - grown from the Garil Ruins' ancient core. The Guylos forces encounter Shield Ligers, Dibisons, Gun Snipers, and other assorted Republican forces in the firefight. During the battle, a Shield Liger DCS damages the Death Stinger to such an extent that it goes berserk. The Proto Breaker and Guylos forces attempt to stop it as well, but the Death Stinger proceeds to wipe out both sides before retreating underground. The Death Stinger would be the final Zoid to use the Organoid System. August to September 2100 - Destroyer Corps & Death Stinger Cloning In July, the Empire puts an upgrade of the Geno Saurer, the Geno Breaker, into service, and so the Republic responds in August by developing the Attack Boosters for the Blade Ligers. In September, the only remaining Ultra Saurus (the President's personal Zoid) is remodelled into Ultra Saurus the Destroyer, and the Destroyer Corps is formed. Composed of other heavy artillery Zoids like the Gojulas, Gordos, Dibison, and Cannon Tortoise, the Destroyer Corps begin pouring heavy artillery on key Empire bases. At this point in time, the war has already turned in favor of the Helic Republic. In early October, rival pilots Borgman and Runstead encounter each other again in another ancient ruin. Borgman's Blade Liger AB and Runstead's Geno Breaker engage in combat, but they are interrupted when they discover the berserk Death Stinger nesting underground. They learn that the Death Stinger has been attempting to use Zoid Cores to clone itself, and realizing that it presented a danger to the entire planet, both Republican and Imperial work together to defeat the Zoid. Borgman is killed in this battle after taking a blow meant for Iceman, but the Death Stinger is successfully defeated. October 2100 to January 2101 - Battle of Nixie Base & Aftermath The Republic advance continues, and the Guylos Empire is eventually pushed back to its final stronghold - Nixie Base. The Destroyer Corps begins shelling it, and the five Republican divisions composing 5000 Zoids attack it. The Guylos Empire has begun its retreat off-continent, but are running out of time. To buy the Army more time and to save Wolff Muroa - the son of Prozen - ex-Zenebas soldiers stay behind to fight. Piloting 100 Elephanders, and over 400 other Zoids (including kamikaze Redlers), the Zenebas men fight to the death. During the battle though, an elite Republican force led by Ray Gregg (a student of Borgman), infiltrates Nixie Base. There, they discover that the Guylos Empire has been excavating a small Zoid known as an 'Interface', and that they have two prototype Zoids (Liger Zero & Berserk Führer). Gregg steals the Zero and attempts to fight Muroa (who is in the Führer), but Muroa escapes with the Interface instead. By the end of the battle, the Empire's forces are able to escape via Whale Kings. The Zenebas volunteers are able to hold out for five hours, buying time for the rest of the army to flee, and manage to destroy three times more Republican Zoids. After the Battle of Nixie Base, the war ends, but hostilities have not. In January 2101, President Camford offers a truce to Prozen, which is soundly rejected. Impact The Western Continent War set the chain for the next three wars to come. It is the first large-scale conflict of the post-Cataclysm world of Zi, and is also responsible for many developments like the Organoid System, Death Stinger, Liger Zero, and the Interface technology used later to control Death Stingers. In the end, the Western Continent War did fulfill Prozen's motive of weakening both factions, making the Neo-Zenebas coup later successful. Zoids in Service Many of the pre-Cataclysm Zoids were re-engineered for the duration of the war. The Republic used many of their old designs, but the Guylos Empire had to rely on Zenebas Zoids because they lost the ability to create Deochalcum-powered Zoids. Some Zoids that were originally Deochalcum-powered had to rely on conventional power sources instead (e.g. Hel Digunner). The following list does not include Zoid variants such as the Iron Kong PK, Shield Liger DCS-J, etc or special cases such as the Imperial Command Wolves. Note that Command Zoids were also in active service during the war. 'Zoids in Service' Category:Battle Story